Woodiecam1 is streaming live video of a Wild Wood Duck nest from inside the nest box with an IR Hawkeye Naturecam. The cam is mounted on the top side of the box facing down.
New Nest………. Wood Duck Willowemoc has 16 eggs, several of which were laid by intruders. Hatch watch starts June 10. She is in the box near the pier facing out.
WoodieFrances Wood Duck and her 14 babies left the box on May 21, 2013 @ 9:15 AM EST. 14 of 23 eggs hatched after 29 days of incubation and all 14 babies made it out safely.
WoodiePier Wood Duck, 17 baby Wood Ducks and 2 Hooded Merganser babies left the box on 4/24/13 at 10:45 AM.
WoodieGanser Wood Duck, 19 baby Wood Ducks and 1 Hooded Merganser baby left the box on 3/28/13 @ 9:45 AM. The eggs hatched after 34 days of incubation.
WoodieNell abandoned her nest after being spooked by a fishing boat that got too close with loud talking and laughing fishermen.
Woodiecam2 is streaming live video of a hummingbird feeder overlooking the lake from an HD Logitech C910 webcam. I will move Woodiecam2 to a close-up cam on jump day.
2012 was another great year for the Woodiecams. We witnessed 56 baby Wood Ducks skydive out of 5 nest boxes. Videos of all the nests can be seen on the Woodiecam1 and Woodiecam2 Ustream site.
Woodiemama Wood Duck and her 3 Wood Duck babies left the nest box at 7:20 AM EST on 7/16/12
WoodieLadyLake and her 9 babies left the box on 5/31/12 at 8:20 AM EST
Woodiepier Wood Duck and her 16 babies left the box on May 16, 2012 at 9:30 AM.
Woodieland Wood Duck hatched 14 of 18 eggs after 31 days of incubation. Exodus took place on May 3rd, 2012 at 9:15 AM EST.
Woodie Wood Duck and her 14 babies left the box on March 26, 2012 at 8:30 AM.
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The Woodiecams are located on Holt Lake near Smithfield, North Carolina. It is 600 acres and 2.5 miles long rimmed with cypress trees.
24-7 The Woodiecams run full time day and night.
Wood Ducks normally nest in tree cavities. The IR Hawkeye Naturecam is inside a 12″ wide X 24 inch tall Wood Duck box. The camera is mounted on the upper back corner facing down. The box is on a 4X4″ wood post with a predator guard. See a photo of the setup in the photo gallery.
Wood Duck fun facts, from the book ” Wood Duck Adventures” by my Uncle F. Eugene Hester. Available from Five Valleys Press.
Genus and Species: Aix Sponsa
Nesting season” In NC. is from February to July.
Fastest speed: 55 MPH
Wing beats per second: 7-7.5
Wing span: 28 inches
Weight: Male: 1.5 lbs. Female: 1.16 lbs.
Length: 17-20 inches
Eggs: Hens lay 1 egg a day, Average clutch is 12, Hatch time is 28 to 35 days. Incubation begins after all 12 eggs are laid.
Babies can fly in 8 to 10 weeks.
Survival: Less than half reach flight stage.
FAQs:
How long do the ducklings stay in the box after hatching? Answer: About 24 hours. The hen will call the babies out the next morning after they hatch and are dry.
Does the male help raise the ducklings? Answer: No.
What do the ducklings eat after leaving the nest? Answer: Animal matter, primarily insects and duck weed.
2011 was an amazing year for the Woodiecams. We witnessed 5 successful wild Wood Duck nests with 74 babies safely jumping out of the boxes. Several of the best videos are on this website in the videos page. We also heard babies chipping away at the eggs and talking to each other while still in the eggs with the new Woodiecam1 egg microphone. This amazing audio is also on the videos page. A must listen to. Another very popular item in 2011 was the outside camera Woodiecam2. We watched 4 broods of babies skydiving out of the boxes from this new camera.
Woodielou hatched all 12 of her eggs and all 12 babies made it safely out of the box at 9:15 AM EST on July 7. See the skydiving babies video on this site under videos.
The best audio/video of the year in my opinion is the recording of Woodielou’s babies chipping away at the egg and talking to each other while still in the eggs. The new egg microphone captured this amazing audio, see it also on this website under videos.
Woodiemae hatched 7 of her 12 eggs on June 22nd. All 7 babies made it safely out of the box at 8:15 AM EST on June 23rd. Videos are on the Ustream site.
WoodieLynn hatched 10 of 11 eggs. All the babies jumped out of the box successfully. See the video on the Ustream site on Woodiecam1 and Woodiecam2
Woodaline hatched 18 of 20 eggs on Saturday, May 21. All 18 babies made it out of the box. See the video of her skydiving babies from the outside camera on this website in the videos page.
Woodie Wood Duck hatched an incredible 29 of 30 eggs on 4/11/11. Unfortunately 2 of the babies did not survive but we are thankful that 27 were seen swimming away with Woodie. Click on videos to see the exodus.
NOTICE: This is a WILD Wood Duck nest. Some eggs may not hatch and some babies may not be able to make it out of the box for various reasons beyond my control. If a baby can’t make it out of the box I will retrieve the baby and take it to Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter.
PREDATOR GUARDS, All of my Wood Duck boxes are mounted on posts with predator guards but it is still possible for Raccoons and Black Snakes to get around the guards but it is rare.
In addition to Wood Duck boxes I have 85 Prothonotary Warbler boxes on the lake. In 2011 I had 21 nests with 82 young Prothonotary Warblers. In 2012 I had 136 young Warblers fledge from 34 nests. Hopefully I will have a Prothonotary Warbler nest cam in 2013.
Questions and comments: e-mail Woodiecam1@nc.rr.com